Switch: Nonpartisan blanket primary would make much more sense

The next batch of elected officials selected by voters this election season should look at whether Guam's primary election system should be changed.

The purpose of the primary election is to determine which candidates from the two political parties will move on to vie for seats in the General Election. Primaries are, essentially, party elections.

The question, then, is: Why does the government of Guam, and thus the island's taxpayers, have to pick up the cost of holding the primary election?

Guam has an open primary. While voters can vote for candidates from only one political party, they don't have to declare a party affiliation before filling out the ballot. That can lead to potential problems in some races.

If there are two gubernatorial candidates in one party, but only one in the other, the latter's party members can vote for whom they perceive as the weaker of the candidates in the opposite party, to give their candidate a stronger chance of winning in the General Election.

Guam could shift to a nonpartisan blanket primary, which would be more fair to independent candidates.

In a nonpartisan blanket primary, political affiliations don't matter. All candidates in each race are all on the same ballot and the top vote-getters move on to the General Election. For example, in the legislative race, the top 30 vote-getters would advance instead of the top 15 Democrats and top 15 Republicans. In the delegate race, only the top two vote getters would move on, even if both are in the same party, as would the top two vote-getters in the gubernatorial race.

Or, if we want to continue with the current format, the cost of holding the election should be paid by the Republican and Democratic parties.